Kids need to play in the mud now and then

Dr. Lowman’s latest Nature’s Secrets column in huffingtonpost:

When baby boomers think back to their childhoods, they can probably recall a treehouse, a Boy/Girl Scout camping trip, family picnics, or a passion for fishing, hunting or horse riding. Now we need to bring back that halcyon childhood pastime of letting our kids (and grandkids) get muddy once in awhile. Studies indicate that they will grow up healthier and happier because of a connection to nature.

We are in the midst of a science education revolution. Federal funding for scientific research has been slashed relative to inflation. Our country currently attracts fewer youths from overseas to study science and engineering – talent that gave our technology an edge in the past. The science literacy of our citizens has eroded. This has far-reaching implications, and perhaps represents the most critical global challenge that America cannot afford to lose. A survey reported in 2002 in Science, the professional, peer-reviewed journal, found that more children knew the characters in the electronic, hand-held Pokemon game than could identify an otter, beetle or oak tree.

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